Zandy's Bride (1974)

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Gene Hackman turns in one of his best performances in this intimate western.

Hackman is Zandy, a hard and angry rancher who needs a wife to cook the meals and birth him some sons, and sends away for a mail-order bride. The titular mate comes in the form of Hannah (Liv Ullmann), fresh off the stage from Minnesota to the gorgeous coast near Monterey, California. Hannah has lied about her age and Zandy already has it in for her from the beginning. The two are married immediately, and Zandy sexually assaults his new bride that night (this is a very hard "PG"-rated film). Zandy's place is filthy, and Hannah does what she can to clean it up. She makes some meek requests- things like a clothesline, no hats at the dinner table, and Zandy must wash his hands before eating. Zandy reacts angrily and violently to this, and we find out why- Zandy's father (Frank Cady) treats Zandy's mother (Eileen Heckart) with even less regard than Zandy treats Hannah. Zandy returns home and finds Hannah has befriended hot-to-trot Maria (Susan Tyrrell, surprisingly good in a part she is all wrong for), who has obvious designs on Zandy.

Jan Troell and screenwriter Marc Norman fashion a great film here. This is a western, but there are no gunfights, no sheriffs, no outlaws, just seemingly realistic life. Troell finds great little scenes, showcasing the actors who are dressed down and dowdy. Life then was ugly, and Troell captures it well. Hackman is incredible- his Zandy is unlikable, cruel, and he delights in the cruelty he shows to his new wife. Hackman never crosses the line into caricature, his character is totally believable. Ullmann is also great, not becoming another victim who turns into a liberated woman at the right time. The audience realizes she is a person before Zandy does. Heckart has a great, pained look that is the product of years of her character's abuse at the hands of Frank Cady's Pa, eons from his folksy sitcom characters. The script sends us through the lives of these people without too much direction, and I believe this is because these people's lives were directionless. There is an underlying anger and toughness to this cast that you do not see in many westerns, which seem to make us think that life then was really fun.

"Zandy's Bride" is not your average western, and even non-genre fans will find something to like. I highly recommend it.

Stats:
(1974) 97 min. (* * * * *) out of five stars
-Directed by Jan Troell
-Screenplay by Marc Norman based on "The Stranger" by Lillian Bos Ross
-Cast: Gene Hackman, Liv Ullmann, Frank Cady, Eileen Heckart, Susan Tyrrell, Sam Bottoms, Harry Dean Stanton, Joe Santos, Robert E. Simpson, Vivian Gordon, Fabian Gregory, Ivan Bell, James Gammon
(PG)